bike parking without a kickstand

Most bikes sold today are based on sport performance designs that eschew the bulk and weight of a kickstand even though 90% of the riders would benefit from having one. This means that parking your bike requires leaning it against another surface and since your bike is on wheels it can be tough to find a position that the bike won't roll out of, especially on inclines or uneven surfaces.

A while back, lifehacker posted a quick-and-easy hack using a wine cork as a parking brake. You have to see the picture at lifehacker to understand, but it is dead simple. You should also check out the comments to find out problems others have had with the hack and some other equally elegant solutions. Our favorite is using your velcro pant leg strap (the one keeping grease of your pant leg). Wrap it around the brake lever and handlebar to tighten the brake and prevent the bike from rolling away.